Monday, March 21, 2011

Military at Lunch, 1904 - Münsingen, Germany

Münsingen is a German town near Stuttgart. It was also the site of a German military training camp from 1895 until 2004.  Although the training camp is now closed, the barracks are still there, and you can now ride your bike around the natural areas on former training camp grounds. This photo was taken in 1904 or earlier.
I might have assumed that the gentlemen would remove their helmets for lunch, but apparently not.

The message reads:
Happy to have arrived after an unpleasant two-hour journey! Heartfelt greetings ...illegible.

 Here's a close-up of the table on the right.

The card is addressed to her Excellency Frau von Hugo, presumably the wife of Major von Hugo, the German Military Attaché to Paris. He may also have been the sender of the card.

10 comments:

  1. Spiked helmets command more respect than balding heads. :)
    Plus, from the standpoint of the birds, every human head is a moving target for guano...

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  2. Besides, you know we Germans NEVER remove our helmets!
    Heartfelt greetings,
    Susi

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  3. Those helmets would come in very handy for spearing the odd roast potato on.

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  4. What a great postcard and great work on deciphering the message! The close up is a treat.

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  5. Are you sure this isn't a motorcycle gang having their annual picnic? Photographer did a great job placing a shrub in front of each group to obscure them, or perhaps that is actually a couple of secret service agents in disguise providing security. Susi, I think the German spelling is 'helmut' (see the movie 'A Night on Earth' to get the joke)...

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  6. Maybe the matching moustaches are attached to the helmets. Fascinating card.

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  7. Boy, those are serious helmets all right. I'd sure like to see a close-up of them, as some appear to have spikes while others have a doorknob-looking thing on them!

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  8. How interesting. I love how vintage postcards can make history personal.

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  9. Seems to me that the spikes may have been for those of a higher rank, but I'm not sure.

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  10. I believe the helmets are to insure that no radio messages from Mars go undetected:) GREAT pic! Bushes and all. What was the photographer thinking?!!

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